This is really "Hardie" to do

We have made good outside visible progress on the house this week, mostly in the beginning of placing our Hardie Lap or siding. James Hardie Siding is a fiber cement siding that is very popular in the Northwest. The company has been around for about 100 years and has a lifetime warranty. "It has the look and feel of wood, but it is unmatched for its weather resistance, toughness, and natural beauty." says their advertisement. We like the look and the durability and it is fairly easy to work with if you have the right tools!

Gutterdawg and The Plumber began their work finishing up the Tyvek and beginning the trim. This shot was taken just as I stepped outside and right after Gutterdawg physically moved his ladder across the Tyvek from his very high position. He just kind of pulled it back and jiggled it over. The Plumber said, "Did you just see that? Please step back inside" :) I had to make some decisions about where to put the trim board, how to trim out the windows etc etc. Did I mention hating to make decisions?

Once most of the trim was in place, they began the siding. It's always exciting to see that first board go on. They placed a small 1 x 5/8 (or was it 3/8?) lathe board all along the bottom of the sheeting around the perimeter of the house. Then The Plumber measures up from that and shoots a chalk line to know where to place the first board. Then they used his new Porter Cable nail gun to shoot in the nails near the top of the board. Those that don't go in enough are hammered home with this wonderful new hammer we bought. I told The Plumber he will go to any lengths just to get new tools! :)
Gutterdawg commented that, "This is really Hardie to do." BUT actually siding is not very hard work at all. It goes fairly quickly so you really feel like you are accomplishing alot. We have a Hardie blade for precise and small cuts that requires the wearing of a mask (due to dust particles....), but usually we use the Hardie scissors. They are so easy to use that The Scribbler does it all the time. Typically, The Plumber takes a measurement, one of us measure the board and marks it OR we run around measuring all the scraps, trying to find the piece that will work. We hate waste :). Then one of us cuts it and one of us carries it over. Once the first row is done, we use these really handy tools that clip up into the previous piece and measure precisely the distance the boards overlap. The best part of it, other than the ease, is that we are saving about $6,000 in labor costs! (well, minus the grocery bill to feed Gutterdawg-Big Grin!)


Here are the boys putting on the dormer window trim. Unfortunately, they will be re-doing it.......Obviously, Gutterdawg has no fear up there so that is good, he won't mind going back...... We thought the windows were equidistant, but the the two end ones on each side are further away. So we are just going to trim them as one instead of five individual ones or are we doing the three in the middle and the end ones separately? Either way, must be re-done!

In this next shot, they look like they are fighting over the nail gun, but are actually sharing rather well. (well, most of the time)

The quickest way to get down from the roof, but not necessarily the safest!

Sitting down on the job! Doesn't look like a very comfy seat, huh?

The roofer finally showed up very early on Friday morning, trying to beat the heat. They had cooler temps and clouds until about 10 AM. They accomplished quite a bit and should finish up early this week. Need to call that gutter guy soon! (the REAL gutter sub contractor)

So, these are the shots taken just as we went in this evening of our week's worth of work. We sided that little side wall last before a late dinner of homemade pizza. Have to wait on the entry area until our porch is poured etc. We also accomplished alot of little jobs or at least made some headway on them. Farmer Girl and I caulked alot of holes and primed wood that needed it. I told them as I caulked that there was no glory in caulking. No one comes along and says," Wow, what a nice caulking job. Can you give us the name of your sub?" Of course, I was kidding. It's an important job and someone has to do it. It's one of the few I can do and finish...well, except for those pesky little high places.......

We also sided the back side, but you can see that we stopped near the top of this wall until we do some finish work on the porch area. The Plumber (should he be The Sider now?) put up some ledger boards for the Trex decking as well as some flashing and trim. There are just so many tiny, seemingly unimportant things that you just don't even consider or think about...

except for The Plumber. He lays awake for hours envisioning how things need to work or will work out once he has it solved.

It's good for me to write all this down. If I get discouraged that things don't seem to be moving along, I can read it and see we actually made much progress this week. Will keep you posted!

God bless, Ellie~